Financial Aid for Students Facing Sudden Hardship in the 2026/2027 School Year

The education system provides a one-time school allowance for students whose financial situation worsens due to random events during the 2026/2027 school year, ensuring barrier-free access to education.

What Is a School Allowance?

A school allowance is a form of material assistance from the state budget or the budget of the relevant local government unit, granted to students to reduce differences in access to education and help overcome barriers resulting from a difficult financial situation.

The school allowance is a social benefit granted once and on a non-refundable basis to a student who is in a difficult situation due to a random event. Importantly, the financial difficulties of the family and the student must be of a temporary nature.

Who Has the Right to a School Allowance?

The right to a school allowance is granted to students of public schools, non-public schools, non-public art schools with public school rights, and students of social service worker training colleges. They can use this entitlement until they finish their education, but no longer than until the age of 24.

The school allowance is also granted to pupils of public and non-public developmental and educational centers, which are facilities dedicated to children and youth with profound intellectual disabilities. They can use the allowance until they complete their compulsory education.

Crucially, the right of the student and the center pupil to apply for the school allowance is not dependent on the family member income criterion.

Random Events Justifying the Granting of a School Allowance

The key point in the right to apply for a school allowance is defining the concept of a “random event.” First of all, it must be noted that it is not specified by the legislator. The right to define it also does not belong to the commune council in the municipality where the allowance is granted and paid.

Therefore, one must refer to case law, according to which a random event covers particularly justified cases that deviate from typical family life situations. Thus, a random event must be characterized by accidentality, sudden occurrence, an extraordinary nature, and result from unpredictable circumstances beyond the control of family members.

What does this mean in practice? Random events may include a house fire, a parent’s accident, or the illness or death of a family member. However, courts have noted that chronic treatment due to numerous ailments does not constitute a random event.

Amount of the School Allowance

The amount of the school allowance depends on the nature of the random event, individual circumstances of the case, and the student’s situation. However, its maximum amount cannot exceed the one-time amount of five times the family allowance granted for a child between the ages of five and 18, which is capped at 620 PLN.

Does this mean a student needing help due to a random event can only receive 620 PLN in the 2026/2027 school year? No, because the legislator stipulated that the school allowance can be granted once or several times a year, not due to a single random event, but due to several different events, as multiple circumstances worsening the family’s material situation may occur.

Rules for Granting the School Allowance

Granting school allowances is the responsibility of the commune. The detailed procedure and method of support are specified in the regulations for granting social material assistance issued by the commune council, which also clarifies whether the benefit takes the form of a monetary payment for educational expenses or educational material assistance.

It should also be remembered that the allowance is issued upon an application, which can be submitted within two months of the random event.

Legal Basis

Act of September 7, 1991 on the education system.

Act of November 28, 2003 on family benefits.

Act of March 12, 2004 on social assistance.